Avengers X Mutant!Reader - Bruce's Ending

Previously...
“So you have some free time to do whatever you like before we have to meet up in the bridge” Steve said as he finished his own lunch. “Why don’t you help me since I’m dying” Tony said before he placed his forehead on the table.

“I could give you a tour of the S.H.E.I.L.D headquarters if you like” Steve told you as he beamed towards you.

“You could come training with me, if you want” Natasha said smiling at the thought of a good fight.
“I’ll show you the labs if you like” Bruce said as he glanced up from the piece of paper he was looking at.

“I guess I’ll go and……….”

                                            ***

“I guess I’ll take you up on your offer Dr. Banner” you said as you looked towards Bruce with a miniscule smile on your face. You caught the doctor off guard by saying this and he looked up in surprise.

“Just call me Bruce” he said after he quickly gained his composure. You both stood and headed out of the room.

“Someone take care of Tony. Please” you called out as you were leaving. The constant whining from the playboy was starting to get on your nerves.  You saw Steve reluctantly help Tony out of the corner of your eye before you had left the room.

“So where to?” you asked Bruce as you took in your surroundings quickly.

“This way” he said with a kind smile before he began to walk off. You followed him quietly, a comfortable silence filing the air. You got lost in your thoughts and nearly ran into the doctor when he stopped outside a room.

“Here we are” he said as he gestured for you to enter. You enter the bright white room cautiously, looking around nervously.

“It’s very white” you commented as Bruce entered the room after you. The labs were making you feel a bit uneasy since the room was similar to the lab you were tested in.

“It is” he agreed before he began to look over some of his work. You rocked back and forth on your heels as you continued to look around.

“Uh… So what do you do here?” you asked as you looked over to the now working doctor. He looked over to you before giving you a sweet smile. He began to explain what he did in the lab and you gently leaned against one of the tables. You weren’t really listening to what Bruce was saying since you were getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

“Well this was lovely it really was” you cut in hastily causing Bruce to become worried.
“Is everything alright (Name)?” Bruce asked as he fiddled with his glasses. He was never good with people and their problems.

“Everything’s fine. I just need some fresh air” you said before you rushed out of the lab on the brink of a panic attack. You managed to find your way to the roof and took deep breaths trying to calm yourself down. You sat down and looked out at the sky as memories of your time in the lab flashed by.

“Hey there” you heard a gentle voice say behind you. You quickly whipped around ready to attack when you notice that it was only Bruce.

“Sorry” you apologized as you turned back around and looked towards the horizon.

“Mind if I sit here?” Bruce asked you before he sat down beside you.

“No” you said keeping your eyes trained on the sky. You and Bruce sat in a comfortable silence until you decided to apologize for running out on him like you did.

“Listen, I’m sorry for being horrible and running out of the lab like that… I guess it just brought up a few bad memories” you explained as you looked at him out of the corner of your eye.

“It’s fine. Nothing to be sorry about, you didn’t have to go there you know?” he said as he looked at you with a kind look on his face.

“I guess I thought I would be okay… I’ve been out of that lab for a few years now… I didn’t think it would affect me that much” you said before you rested your forehead against your knees. Bruce was unsure what to say so he stayed quiet and it fell silent again.

“I’m sorry for being so moody” you said breaking the silence, “I guess my emotions just go out of control, especially my anger.”

You sighed and looked over at Bruce who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

“What are you thinking about?” you asked trying to start a conversation which wasn’t like you.

“ I was just thinking that maybe I could help you with managing your anger, since you said that it can get out of hand” Bruce said as he looked over to your to see your reaction.

“You would do that?” you asked as you raised your head and made eye contact with him for the first time. He nodded with a smile on his face which made a weak smile make its way to your face.

“Thanks Bruce” you said before you stood and offered him a hand to help him up. You were feeling a lot better after talking with Bruce.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad” you mumbled to yourself as you and Bruce went back inside.

                              -Time Skip to a Few Months Later-

Over the past few months things had started to look better for you. You moved into Stark Tower with the rest of the Avengers after you reluctantly accepted Fury’s offer to join the group. You had slowly opened up to the Avengers and became used to their antics and habits. You began to consider them all friends and they were the first friends you ever had. You had learned to control your emotions better with Bruce’s help and you were even more comfortable in the labs. Another upside was that those crazy scientists had finally given up on chasing you. Or so you thought.

“(Name)?” you heard Bruce call which snapped you out of your daze. You had begun to space out a lot more, probably because you weren’t worried for your life every minute of the day.

“Sorry what?” you asked smiled sheepishly. Bruce only shook his head as an amused grin crawled onto his face.

“I asked if you were hungry” Bruce said as he tidied up a few sheets he had lying around.

“I could go for some food” you replied before you stood and stretched. The two of you headed towards the communal kitchen where you found Tony enjoying his midday scotch.

“Hello lovebirds” Tony greeted the two of you as you entered the room.

“What did you just say?” you asked with an annoyed tone and a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing” Tony said quickly, not wanting his nose to be broken again. You glanced over at Brue to see his cheeks were a light pink. You chose not to say anything, instead looking in the fridge for something to snack on.

“Damn” you mumbled under your breath when you noticed that there was nothing edible for you to eat.

“Who ate my steak?” you asked as you turned around to face the two men. Bruce shrugged and Tony didn’t bother to answer.

“Tony?” you asked as you sent a questioning glare his way.

“I have no idea” he said before he downed the last of his scotch. You sighed before you left the kitchen and quickly went to your room. You picked up your purse which you got a birthday present from Tony and your phone that was also a present from Tony. You popped your head into the kitchen to see that Tony had refilled his scotch and was a having an in depth conversation with Bruce about science things.

“I’m just going to pop down to the supermarket to get some steak. Okay?” you said as you look towards the two science geniuses.

“How long do you think you’ll be?” Bruce asked cutting his conversation with Tony short.

“About ten minutes, fifteen at most” you said before you waved to them and took the elevator to the ground floor. You exited Stark Tower and begun to make you way to the closest supermarket. You had let yourself become too relaxed so you didn’t hear the men approach you from behind and when you did notice they were there, it was too late. One put a chloroform covered rag in front of your mouth making you breathe in the sleep inducing drug. And because you were genetically enhanced you were very sensitive to chemicals and drugs which meant that you passed out before you could do anything.

                                           -Time Skip!-

You woke up to a scent that you dreaded. The smell of the lab you were raised and tested in. Your eyes shot open and you looked around distressed. You held back a scream when you confirmed that you were indeed back at the lab.

“Subject X has woken up, sir” you heard a male say, which caused to begin to panic. Being called by the name those horrid scientists gave to you always made you scared. They always seemed to have power over you, even though you were extremely strong.

“Good, good” you heard a familiar cheery voice say followed by his sickening scent. You saw the man kneel down so he was at your eye level.

“Andrew” you spat with a disgusted look. This was the scientist that created you, raised you and controlled everything that happened to you in this lab.

“It’s a pleasure to see you too Subject X” he said in his usual overly happy voice. It made you want to cut off your ears, you hated listening to him speak.

“Welcome home” Marcus, Andrew’s right hand man said with a smug look on his face. You hissed at him causing his smug look to disappear.

“You sure have missed quite a few test haven’t you X? Shall we begin to catch up?” Andrew asked with a smile before he stood. You pushed your back against the side of the cage that was furthest from the door while you shook your head furiously.

“I’ll take that as a yes then. Shall we begin?” he said as he opened the door of the cage and signaled to the other scientists. One of the scientists grabbed a syringe and quickly injected you with that drug that was in the syringe before you could react. The drug caused you to become momentarily paralyzed so the scientists could safely move you to the testing area. Mentally, you were begging for help from anyone. You didn’t want to be here, you just wanted to go back home with the Avengers, with Bruce.

                                       -A Week Later-

It had been a week since you were captured and the Avengers were doing everything they could in their power to find you. So far they had been unsuccessful and you had been tested on many times over the past week. They had poked and prodded you; they dissected you and injected you with new drugs. You worst dreams had come true; you were back in what you considered hell. You hurt everywhere and you just wanted to get out of this place.

“Good morning Subject X!” Andrew greeted you cheerily which you didn’t even respond to. All the testing and experimenting was a lot worse that you remembered. You didn’t know how long it had been since you were back at the lab but it felt like it had been weeks, months even. You had begun to lose hope that anyone was ever going to save you from these monsters.

“So let’s get started shall we?” Andrew asked with a huge grin plastered on his face. He opened the door and you were about to be injected with a paralyzing drug when a huge crash shook the building. Andrew suddenly shut the caged and locked it. The scientists all rushed out of the room to see what the commotion was.  They didn’t come back; instead you heard cries of people getting injured. Adrenaline began to kick and your hope was restored. You thought that finally someone had come to save you from this hell you had been dragged back into. You laughed loudly when you saw Andrew fly across the room and hit the wall. He was finally getting what he deserved. A huge grin made its way to your face when you saw the Hulk storm into the room.

“Hey big guy!” you called out as you waved from the caged you were trapped in. You made eye contact with him and he began to walk over to you. You weren’t worried; you trusted that Bruce wouldn’t hurt you. You let out a giggle of happiness when the Hulk ripped off the door of your caged.

“Thanks big guy” you said as you crawled out from your small prison. You grabbed the edge of the cage when you stood to steady yourself.

“Guess those drugs haven’t worn off yet” you muttered to yourself. Once you made sure you weren’t going to collapse you looked over to see the Hulk beating Andrew with every piece of strength he had.

“You go big guy!” you yelled before you began to limp over to the door. You didn’t even make it to the door before Tony burst through wearing his famous Iron Man suit.

“Having fun Tony?” you asked as you started to hobble towards the door again.

“You bet sweet cheeks” Tony said before he picked you up bridal style and flew away from the compound where you were being held captive.

“Drop the nickname Tony” you said as you shifted so you were more comfortable.

“What about the others Tony? Shouldn’t you help them?” you asked as you looked back at the compound that you were getting farther and farther away from by the minute.

“They’ll be fine. Besides, it’s more important to get you somewhere safe. After all I don’t want to face the wrath of the big green rage monster” Tony said which caused you to become confused.

“Why would Bruce get mad with you?” you asked as you could see the skyline of New York come into view.

“Because he’s been worried about you ever since you left. And the fact that he likes you” Tony said and you could hear the smile in his voice.

“Likes me?” you asked as Stark Tower came into your line of sight. You began to get excited since you were nearly back at the place you now considered your home.

“As in a romantic sense” Tony said as he landed on the roof Stark Tower. He gently set you down on your feet as you processed what he just said.

“You’re obviously lying” you said as you tried to walk forward, instead collapsing. Luckily, Tony caught you before you injured yourself.

“I’m not” he said as he helped you get inside.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever” you said clearly unconvinced as you sat down on one of Tony’s plush lounges. You let out a pleased sigh as you snuggled into the cushions glad to be back at the luxurious tower. Tony left the room and returned without his suit; instead he had a glass of scotch in each hand.

“Want one?” he asked as he held out one of the glasses. You nodded gratefully and took the offered glass. You downed the whole thing in one go since you really needed a drink.

“Thanks” you said as gave him a small smile while handing back the glass. It seemed that Tony wasn’t going to go back to help the other Avengers, so the two of you had to wait until the others returned.

                                             -Time Skip-

The other Avengers had returned after what sounded like an intense battle. You got patched up and all the drugs had finally worn off. You had a long hot shower and were now chilling in a fresh set of clothes. You made your way to the lab where you knew you could find the man you were looking for.  You knocked lightly on the door before you entered the lab looking for Bruce. You saw him working as usual, but he stopped when you entered the room.

“Hey” you greeted as you wondered over to him.

“Hello” he said, returning the greeting.

“Um… I just wanted to thank you for today. And for caring about me” you said before you quickly gave Bruce a peck on the cheek. Your cheeks became a deep crimson before you quickly turned around and began to leave.

“Wait” you heard Bruce call out to you. You turned around and looked at him quizzically. He cleared his throat and tried to hide the blush that covered his cheeks.

“You missed” he said as his blush got darker.

“Pardon?” you asked as you innocently tilted your head to the side. Before he could change his mind, Bruce grabbed your waist and pulled you close to him.

“Bruce!” you squeaked out of surprise, you didn’t move though. Then he leaned in and kissed you gently. Your eyes widened in shock but you soon melted into the kiss. It was your first kiss but you wouldn’t rather share it with anyone else. The two of you parted when your lungs began to protest due to the lack of air. Both of you were blushing deeply.

“I’m sorry. I overstepped my boundary” Bruce apologized as he rubbed the back of his neck. You didn’t even bother saying anything; you just pulled Bruce in for another kiss. It caught him off guard but you felt him smile into the kiss. You were enjoying your moment until it was rudely interrupted. You and Bruce parted quickly when you heard the click of a camera. You saw Tony with a camera taking pictures and smiling widely.

“What are you doing Tony?” Bruce asked as he let go of your waist. You turned and faced Tony with your hands on your hips. Tony laughed before he turned the camera around so you and Bruce could see a picture of the two of you sharing a kiss. Tony waved the camera before he ran off to show the others. You were about to run after him but Bruce grabbed your wrist.

“Forget about him” Bruce said before he gently grabbed your waist and kissed you again. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer. You parted and rested your forehead against his.

Maybe joining the Avengers and being a mutant wasn’t so bad after all.